JP2021035331A - Culture apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a culture apparatus that improves uniformity of temperature in culture vessels without agitating in solid culture.SOLUTION: A culture apparatus has: a housing KG equipped with a first hole H2 and a second hole H3 provided at a position lower than the first hole H2; a plurality of culture vessels in which a ceiling surface is open and a plurality of holes is provided for a bottom face, and which is arranged inside the housing KG in a lengthwise direction; a blower BR which pushes out air; a first valve B2 provided between the first hole H2 of the housing KG and one end of the blower BR; a second valve B3 provided between the second hole of the housing and one end of the blower; and a control panel which switches an open/closed state of the first valve B2 and the second valve B3 in order to change a circulation direction of air inside the housing KG. A culture apparatus comprises: an intake valve B5 in which one end communicates with the atmosphere and the other end communicates with the blower BR; and an exhaust valve B7 in which one end is connected to the housing KG side and the other end communicates with atmosphere, and in the case where previously set intake and exhaust channel transition conditions are fulfilled, the apparatus controls the intake valve B5 and the exhaust valve B7 so as to take outside air into the housing KG during culture, and exhausts the air.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

The present invention relates to a solid culture apparatus for microorganisms. By setting the culture conditions appropriately, this solid culture apparatus can support solid culture of various microorganisms such as aerobic bacteria and anaerobic bacteria.

Most of the culturing of microorganisms is liquid culture. On the other hand, in the utilization of microorganisms in foods such as natto, there are cases where liquid culture is not suitable, and in such cases, solid culture is used. Therefore, solid culture is adopted according to the properties of each microorganism and the purpose of use.

On the other hand, conventionally, a culture device for culturing aspergillus has been developed. Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a koji making machine having a plurality of shelves and blowing air from the bottom to the top with a fan.
In Patent Documents 1 and 2, in a ventilation type koji making machine having an inner wall made of a metal plate and a heating device built in the outside thereof, koji boxes are installed in 2 to 10 stages, and the koji boxes are vertically arranged in 1 to 8 rows. A koji making machine in which a partition plate is detachably provided so as to be able to do so is disclosed.

Further, Patent Document 3 discloses a technique of measuring the temperature of bacterial cells and controlling the temperature with the outside air to be introduced. Patent Document 3 discloses that the outside air is used for controlling the product temperature due to the heat generation of the koji substrate, and the amount of outside air introduced is automatically controlled by the measured product temperature value and the blown air temperature measured value. Further, Patent Document 4 is provided with a horizontally rotatable culture bed having a perforated bottom plate, and air is blown downward or upward.

Japanese Patent No. 3075895 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-87956 Japanese Patent No. 3189130 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-70846

In the case of solid culture, it is necessary to make the fermentation conditions in the culture layer uniform in order to increase the yield of bacteria, and for that purpose, a stirring step or the like is required. For example, in Patent Document 4, one of the problems is that the temperature in the culture container becomes non-uniform, and in order to solve this problem, the culture container is rotated. That is, in Patent Document 4, it is necessary to move the culture vessel and stir it. However, depending on the culture and culture scale, sufficient stirring may not be possible due to the shape, particle size, water content, density (bulk specific gravity), disintegration property, viscosity, etc. of the solid medium, making it difficult to secure a uniform culture environment for the entire container. there is a possibility. In particular, there are many problems in performing the stirring step in solid culture, and a culture device capable of improving the uniformity of temperature in the culture vessel by a method other than stirring is desired.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a culture apparatus capable of improving the uniformity of temperature in a culture vessel without performing a stirring step in solid culture. To do.

The culturing device according to the first aspect of the present invention is a culturing device for solid-culturing microorganisms, in which a first hole and a second hole provided at a position lower than the first hole are formed. A housing, a plurality of culture containers having an opening on the ceiling surface and a plurality of holes on the bottom surface and vertically arranged inside the housing, a blower for pushing out air, and the above-mentioned housing. A first valve provided between the first hole and one end of the blower, a second valve provided between the second hole of the housing and one end of the blower, and the above. In order to change the circulation direction of air in the housing, at least a control panel for switching between the open / closed state of the first valve and the second valve is provided.

According to this configuration, since the air circulation direction can be changed during the solid culture, the temperature uniformity in the culture vessel can be improved without the stirring step.

The culture apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention is the culture apparatus according to the first aspect, and includes an intake valve having one end communicating with the atmosphere and the other end connected to the side of the blower. An exhaust valve having one end connected to the housing side and the other end communicating with the atmosphere is further provided, and the control panel is external during culturing when a predetermined intake / exhaust flow path transition condition is satisfied. At least the intake valve and the exhaust valve are controlled to be opened so that the air is taken into the housing and discharged.

According to this configuration, during solid culture, external air can be taken into the housing and discharged, fresh air and oxygen can be supplied to the medium, and heat at a high temperature of the medium can be discharged. Can be done.

The culture device according to the third aspect of the present invention is the culture device according to the second aspect, and when the intake / exhaust flow path transition condition is satisfied, the control panel takes in external air into the housing. At least the open / closed state of the first valve and the second valve is switched in order to change the discharge path.

According to this configuration, when the outside air is taken into the housing and discharged, the circulation direction of the air can be changed, so that the efficiency of supplying fresh air and oxygen to the medium is improved and the efficiency of supply to the medium is improved. The heat exhaust effect can be improved.

The culture apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention is the culture apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, and the first hole and the second hole are formed diagonally. ..

According to this configuration, since the air in the housing circulates diagonally during the solid culture, the temperature uniformity in the culture vessel can be improved.

The culture device according to the fifth aspect of the present invention is the culture device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, and the housing is provided with a door that can be opened and closed, and the inner surface of the door is provided. Is provided with an elastic body, and when the door is closed, the elastic body comes into close contact with the upper surface of the side wall constituting the culture vessel.

According to this configuration, it is possible to prevent air from escaping from the upper surface side of the side wall of the culture vessel. Since a plurality of holes are provided on the bottom surface of the culture vessel, air circulates between the culture vessels only through these holes, so that air can be circulated to each culture vessel without loss of air.

The culturing device according to the sixth aspect of the present invention is the culturing device according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, and includes wheels connected to the housing, and the culturing device has the wheels. It can be moved by rotating.

According to this configuration, even when it is necessary to process the culture, the culture apparatus itself can be moved, so that it is not necessary to carry each of the culture containers, so that labor can be reduced and labor can be reduced. It is possible to avoid a decrease in production efficiency due to dropping the culture vessel.

The culturing device according to the sixth aspect of the present invention is the culturing device according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, and the culturing device is for culturing a culture for separating and recovering cultured cells. It is a culture device of.

According to this configuration, the temperature uniformity in the culture vessel can be improved, and the culture efficiency of the culture can be improved.

According to one aspect of the present invention, since the circulation direction of air can be changed during solid culture, the temperature uniformity in the culture vessel can be improved without a stirring step.

It is a perspective view of the culture apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a side view of the culture apparatus seen from the left in FIG. It is a top view of the culture apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a front view of the culture apparatus seen from the direction of arrow A1 of FIG. It is a front view of the culture apparatus seen from the direction of arrow A1 of FIG. It is the figure which opened the door of the housing of a culture apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows an example of a series of processing using a culture apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process at the time of culturing. It is a schematic diagram explaining the circulation flow path and the intake / exhaust flow path. It is a figure which shows the opening and closing state of each valve at the time of the flow path FL1 which air is supplied from the lower part of the circulation flow path during culture. It is a figure which shows the opening and closing state of each valve at the time of the flow path FL2 which air is supplied from the upper part of the circulation flow path during culture. It is a figure which shows the open / closed state of each valve at the time of the flow path FL3 which air is supplied from the lower part of the intake / exhaust flow path. It is a figure which shows the open / closed state of each valve at the time of the flow path FL4 which air is supplied from the upper part of the intake / exhaust flow paths. It is a figure which shows the open / closed state of each of the flow path FL5 and the valve at the time of medium drying. It is a figure which shows the open / closed state of each of the flow paths FL61, FL62 and a valve at the time of dry heat. It is a side view of the culture apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a rear view of the culture apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the opening and closing state of each valve at the time of the flow path FL21 which air is supplied from the lower part of the circulation flow path during culture. It is a figure which shows the opening and closing state of each valve at the time of the flow path FL22 which air is supplied from the upper part of the circulation flow path during culture. It is a figure which shows the open / closed state of each valve at the time of the flow path FL23 which air is supplied from the lower part of the intake / exhaust flow path. It is a figure which shows the open / closed state of each valve at the time of the flow path FL24 which air is supplied from the upper part of the intake / exhaust flow paths. It is a figure which shows the open / closed state of each of the flow path FL25 and the valve at the time of medium drying. It is a figure which shows the open-opening state of each of the flow paths FL26, FL27 and a valve at the time of dry heat.

Hereinafter, each embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. However, more detailed explanation than necessary may be omitted. For example, detailed explanations of already well-known matters and duplicate explanations for substantially the same configuration may be omitted. This is to avoid unnecessary redundancy of the following description and to facilitate the understanding of those skilled in the art.

<Issue>
In addition, incidental issues common to each embodiment will be described below. In the past solid culture, large-scale culture is often performed for the purpose of using the culture, and the culture conditions are set and managed in each culture room.
On the other hand, when culturing for the purpose of utilizing the bacterial cells themselves, there are cases where mass culturing is not necessary, and mass culturing may cause a decrease in work efficiency, heavy labor, or waste of the culture. .. Further, when the cells are used, a step of separating the cells from the culture may occur, and the treatment may not be possible only in the culture facility. Therefore, it is desired that the incubator itself be movable.

<First Embodiment>
First, the configuration of the culture apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described. The culture device 1 according to the first embodiment is a culture device in which microorganisms are solid-cultured and movable. As the microorganism, lactic acid bacteria, bifidobacteria, Bacillus spp., And the like are preferable as bacterial species used for foods, feeds and the like. In this embodiment, an aerobic bacterium of the genus Bacillus will be described as an example as a microorganism. The culturing device according to the present embodiment is a culturing device for culturing a culture for separating and collecting cultured cells. The microorganism to be cultured is not limited to aerobic bacteria, and may be anaerobic bacteria.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the culture apparatus according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the culture apparatus 1 includes a housing (also referred to as cargo) KG, valves B1 to B7, a heater (also referred to as a heater) HT for heating air, and a blower (also referred to as a blower) for pushing out air. It has a BR.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the incubator as viewed from the left in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the culture device 1 further includes a handle HD connected to the housing KG and a control panel CP. The control panel CP controls the opening and closing of valves B1 to B7.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the culture apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a front view of the incubator as seen from the direction of arrow A1 in FIG. FIG. 5 is a front view of the incubator as viewed from the direction of arrow A1 in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 4, and 5, the culture device 1 includes wheels WL1 to WL4 connected to the housing KG. As a result, when the user of the culture device 1 pushes or pulls the culture device 1 with the handle HD, the wheels WL1 to WL4 can be rotated to move the culture device 1. As shown in FIG. 5, holes H1 to H4 are formed in the housing KG. The hole H2 is also referred to as a first hole, and the hole H3 is provided at a position lower than the hole H2 (first hole) and is also referred to as a second hole.

FIG. 6 is a view in which the door of the housing of the incubator is opened. The culture devices 1 contain culture containers BT1 to BT6. The culture containers BT1 to BT6 have an open ceiling surface and a plurality of holes on the bottom surface, and are arranged in the vertical direction inside the housing KG. As shown in FIG. 6, an elastic body (here, urethane rubber as an example) GM is provided on the inner surface of the door DR, and when the door DR is closed, the elastic body GM constitutes the culture containers BT1 to BT6. It is in close contact with the upper surface of the side wall. As a result, it is possible to prevent air from escaping from the upper surface side of the side wall of the culture containers BT1 to BT6 and improve the sealing property, so that the culture efficiency of the genus Bacillus can be improved. Since a plurality of holes are provided on the bottom surface of the culture containers BT1 to BT6, air circulates between the culture containers BT1 to BT6 only through these holes, so that air can be supplied to each culture container without loss of air. Can be circulated.

Further, not only the door DR but also the door is provided on the opposite side surface, and the culture containers BT1 to BT6 can be taken in and out from any side surface.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a series of processes using the culture apparatus.

(Step S1) Incubate. During this culture, as shown in FIG. 9, the circulation flow path for circulating air inside the housing KG and the intake / exhaust flow path for sucking and discharging outside air into the housing KG are alternately switched. ..

(Step S2) After the culture is completed, the medium is dried. Specifically, the medium is dried with hot air from the heater HT, and moist air is discharged to the outside of the culture device 1. The flow path is, for example, one-way. Details of the flow path will be described with reference to FIG.

(Step S3) The inside of the culture apparatus 1 is washed.

(Step S4) The inside of the culture apparatus 1 is sterilized by drying.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the process during culturing. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a circulation flow path and an intake / exhaust flow path. The process at the time of culturing will be described with reference to FIG.

(Step S11) Air circulates inside the housing KG in the circulation flow path. For example, the humidity in the culture vessels BT1 to BT7 is maintained by circulating the temperature-controlled air in the heater HT. Further, the control panel CP has a flow path FL1 (see FIG. 9) in which air is supplied from below and a flow path FL2 (see FIG. 9) in which air is supplied from above by switching the open / closed state of valves B1 to B7. ) Is switched. Thereby, the uniformity of the temperature in the culture vessels BT1 to BT7 can be improved.

In addition, there may be a time period when the heater HT does not generate heat during culturing, or there is a case where heat is not generated at all during culturing and only when it is dried.

(Step S12) The control panel CP determines whether or not a predetermined intake / exhaust flow path transition condition is satisfied. The predetermined intake / exhaust flow path transition condition is, for example, a case where the temperature inside the housing KG exceeds the threshold temperature. If the intake / exhaust flow path transition condition is not satisfied, the circulation flow path in step S11 continues.

(Step S13) When the intake / exhaust flow path transition condition determined in advance in step S12 is satisfied, the intake / exhaust flow path is switched to. At that time, the control panel CP switches the open / closed state of the valves B1 to B7 to supply the air flow path FL3 (see FIG. 9) from below and the flow path FL4 (see FIG. 9) to which air is supplied from above. See). As a result, fresh air or oxygen can be more uniformly supplied into the culture vessels BT1 to BT6, and the heat at the high temperature of the medium can be efficiently discharged.

(Step S14) The control panel CP determines whether or not a predetermined circulation flow path transition condition is satisfied. The predetermined circulation flow path transition condition is, for example, a case where the temperature inside the housing KG falls within the threshold temperature. If the circulation flow path transition condition is not satisfied, the intake / exhaust flow path remains.
On the other hand, when the circulation flow path transition condition is satisfied, returning to step S11, the control panel CP switches the open / closed state of the valves B1 to B7 so that the air circulates inside the housing KG.

Subsequently, with reference to FIGS. 10 to 15, the open / closed state of the flow path and the valves B1 to B7 according to the first embodiment will be described.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an open / closed state of each valve in the flow path FL1 in which air is supplied from below in the circulation flow path during culturing. As shown in FIG. 10, one end of the blower BR communicates with one end of the valve B2 and one end of the valve B3, and the other end communicates with one end of the heater HT. One end of the heater HT communicates with the other end of the blower BR.

As shown in FIG. 10, one end of the valve B1 communicates with the hole H1 and the other end communicates with one end of the valve B6 and one end of the valve B7. Here the valve B1 is open. One end of the valve B2 is connected to one end of the blower BR, and the other end communicates with the hole H2. Here, the valve B2 is also referred to as a first valve. As described above, the valve B2 (first valve) is provided between the hole H2 (first hole) of the housing and one end of the blower BR. Here the valve B2 is closed.

One end of the valve B3 communicates with one end of the blower BR, and the other end communicates with the hole H3. Here, the valve B3 is also referred to as a second valve. As described above, the valve B3 (second valve) is provided between the hole H3 (second hole) of the housing and one end of the blower BR. Here the valve B3 is open. As a result, the air from the blower BR whose temperature is controlled by the heater HT is supplied into the housing KG through the hole H3.

One end of the valve B4 communicates with the hole H4, the other end communicates with one end of the valve B7, the other end of the valve B1, and one end of the valve B6. Here the valve B4 is closed.
One end of the valve B5 communicates with the atmosphere, and the other end communicates with the other end of the heater HT and the other end of the valve B6. Here the valve B5 is closed.
One end of the valve B6 communicates with the other end of the valve B1, one end of the valve B7, and the other end of the valve B4, and the other end communicates with the other end of the heater HT and the other end of the valve B5. Here the valve B6 is open.

One end of the valve B7 communicates with the other end of the valve B1, the other end of the valve B6, and the other end of the valve B4, and the other end communicates with the atmosphere. Here the valve B7 is closed.

By controlling the open / closed state of the valves B1 to B7 in this way, the control panel CP allows the air heated by the heater HT and pushed out from the blower BR to pass through the hole H3 through the valve B3 and inside the housing KG. The culture containers BT1 to BT6 provided in the above pass through the culture container BT6 provided at the bottom in this order from the culture container BT5, the culture container BT4, the culture container BT3, the culture container BT2, and the culture container BT1. After that, air is discharged from the hole H1 and returns to the heater HT via the valve B1 and the valve B6. In this way, the air sucked through the lower hole H3 is discharged through the upper hole H1 arranged diagonally.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an open / closed state of each valve in the flow path FL2 in which air is supplied from above among the circulation flow paths during culturing. As shown in FIG. 11, valve B1 closes, valve B2 (first valve) opens, valve B3 (second valve) closes, valve B4 opens, valve B5 closes, valve B6 opens, valve. B7 is closed.

By controlling the open / closed state of the valves B1 to B7 in this way, the control panel CP allows the air heated by the heater HT and pushed out from the blower BR to pass through the hole H2 through the valve B2 and inside the housing KG. The culture containers BT1 to BT6 provided in the above are passed through the culture container BT1 provided at the top, the culture container BT2, the culture container BT3, the culture container BT4, the culture container BT5, and the culture container BT6 in this order. After that, air is discharged from the hole H4 and returns to the heater HT via the valve B4 and the valve B6. In this way, the air sucked through the upper hole H2 is discharged through the lower hole H4 arranged diagonally.

In order to change the circulation direction of air in the housing KG in the circulation flow path during culturing in this way, the control panel CP is at least of valve B2 (first valve) and valve B3 (second valve). Switch the open / closed state.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an open / closed state of each valve in the flow path FL3 in which air is supplied from below among the intake / exhaust flow paths. As shown in FIG. 12, valve B1 opens, valve B2 (first valve) closes, valve B3 (second valve) opens, valve B4 closes, valve B5 opens, valve B6 closes, valve. B7 is open.

By controlling the open / closed state of the valves B1 to B7 in this way, the control panel CP heats the air flowing in from the outside of the culture device 1 through the valve B5 by the heater HT, and then the heated air is blown by the blower. Extruded from BR. After that, the extruded air passes through the hole H3 through the valve B3, and the culture containers BT1 to BT6 provided in the housing KG are cultivated from the culture container BT6 provided at the bottom to the culture container BT5 and the culture. It passes through the container BT4, the culture container BT3, the culture container BT2, and the culture container BT1 in this order. After that, the air is discharged from the hole H1 to the outside of the housing KG, and the discharged air is discharged to the outside of the culture device 1 via the valves B1 and B7. In this way, the air sucked through the lower hole H3 is discharged through the upper hole H1 arranged diagonally.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an open / closed state of each valve in the flow path FL4 in which air is supplied from above among the intake / exhaust flow paths. As shown in FIG. 13, valve B1 closes, valve B2 (first valve) opens, valve B3 (second valve) closes, valve B4 opens, valve B5 opens, valve B6 closes, valve. B7 is open.

By controlling the open / closed state of the valves B1 to B7 in this way, the control panel CP heats the air flowing in from the outside of the culture device 1 through the valve B5 by the heater HT, and then the heated air is blown by the blower. Extruded from BR. After that, the extruded air passes through the hole H2 through the valve B2, and the culture containers BT1 to BT6 provided in the housing KG are cultivated from the culture container BT1 provided at the top to the culture container BT2 and the culture. It passes through the container BT3, the culture container BT4, the culture container BT5, and the culture container BT6 in this order. After that, the air is discharged from the hole H4 to the outside of the housing KG, and the discharged air is discharged to the outside of the culture device 1 via the valves B4 and B7. In this way, the air sucked through the upper hole H2 is discharged through the lower hole H4 arranged diagonally.

Here, the valve B5 is also referred to as an intake valve, and the valve B7 is also referred to as an exhaust valve. One end of this valve B5 communicates with the atmosphere, and the other end is connected to the side of the blower BR. One end of the valve B7 is connected to the housing KG side, and the other end communicates with the atmosphere. As described above, the control panel CP takes in the outside air into the housing KG and discharges it during the culture when the predetermined intake / exhaust flow path transition conditions are satisfied. Is controlled to open at least the valve B5 (intake valve) and the valve B7 (exhaust valve) so that the air is taken into the housing KG and discharged. As a result, the fan of the blower BR rotates in one direction, so that air flows in from the outside of the culture device 1 through the valve B5, and the inflowing air is supplied to the blower BR and enters the housing KG. Extruded. After that, the air that has passed through the housing KG is discharged to the outside of the culture apparatus 1 via the valve B7.

Further, when the intake / exhaust flow path transition condition is satisfied, the control panel CP takes at least the valve B2 (first valve) and the valve B3 (in order to change the path of taking in the external air into the housing KG and discharging it. The open / closed state of the second valve) is switched. As a result, the route of the intake / exhaust flow path is changed.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an open / closed state of each of the flow path FL5 and the valve when the medium is dried. As shown in FIG. 14, valve B1 opens, valve B2 (first valve) closes, valve B3 (second valve) opens, valve B4 closes, valve B5 opens, valve B6 closes, valve. B7 is open. Further, the heater HT is in the ON state, and for example, the temperature of the air is adjusted to be a first temperature higher than room temperature. As a result, air having a first temperature higher than normal temperature is supplied to the medium, and the medium is dried. Then, the moist air is discharged from the valve B7. In this embodiment, as an example, the flow path is one-way only when the medium is dried.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an open / closed state of each of the flow paths FL61, FL62 and the valve during dry heat. As shown in FIG. 15, the dry heat flow paths FL61 and FL62 are circulation flow paths, which are the same as the flow paths FL1 and the flow path FL2 in FIG. 11, respectively. However, the heater HT is in the ON state, and is adjusted to, for example, a second temperature higher than the first temperature. As a result, air having a second temperature is supplied into the housing KG, and the inside of the housing KG is sterilized.

The control panel CP switches the open / closed state of the valves B1 to B7 so that the flow path FL61 and the flow path FL62 are switched. As a result, the flow paths FL61 and FL62 are switched, so that dry heat sterilization can be performed uniformly.

As described above, the culture device 1 according to the first embodiment is a culture device for solid-culturing aerobic bacteria (for example, Bacillus genus bacteria), and the hole H2 and the hole H3 provided at a position lower than the hole H2 are provided. The formed housing KG, a plurality of culture containers BT1 to BT6 having a plurality of holes on the bottom surface and arranged vertically inside the housing KG, a blower BR for pushing out air, and a housing. A valve B2 provided between the hole H2 of the KG and one end of the blower BR, a valve B3 provided between the hole H3 of the housing KG and one end of the blower BR, and air circulation in the housing KG. In order to change the direction, at least a control panel CP for switching the open / closed state of the valve B2 and the valve B3 is provided.

According to this configuration, since the air circulation direction can be changed during the solid culture, the temperature uniformity in the culture vessel can be improved without the stirring step.
Further, the culture apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment is provided with a heater (heater) HT, so that the culture medium can be dried and the culture layer after culturing can be sterilized.

<Second embodiment>
Subsequently, the configuration of the culture apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described. The culture device 2 according to the second embodiment is also a culture device in which aerobic bacteria are solid-cultured and can be moved. FIG. 16 is a side view of the culture apparatus according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 16, the culture apparatus 2 includes a housing (also referred to as cargo) KG, a heater (also referred to as a heater) HT for heating air, and a blower (also referred to as a blower) BR for pushing out air.

FIG. 17 is a rear view of the incubator as viewed from the direction of arrow A3 in FIG. As shown in FIG. 17, the culture device 2 further includes valves B21 to B28 and a control panel CP (not shown). The control panel CP controls the opening and closing of valves B1 to B7. As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the culture apparatus 2 includes wheels WL1 to WL4 connected to the housing KG (however, the wheels WL4 are not shown). As shown in FIG. 17, holes H21 and H22 are formed in the housing KG. The hole H21 is also referred to as a first hole, and the hole H22 is provided at a position lower than the hole H21 (first hole) and is also referred to as a second hole.

Since the series of treatments using the culture apparatus 2 is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description of the flow of the treatments will be omitted.

Subsequently, with reference to FIGS. 18 to 23, the open / closed state of the flow path and the valves B21 to B28 according to the second embodiment will be described.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an open / closed state of each valve in the flow path FL21 in which air is supplied from below in the circulation flow path during culturing. As shown in FIG. 18, one end of the blower BR communicates with one end of the valve B21 and one end of the valve B22. In the heater HT, the first end communicates with the other end of the valve B22, the second end communicates with the hole H22, and the third end communicates with one end of the valve B23. Communicating.

As shown in FIG. 18, one end of the valve B21 communicates with one end of the blower BR and one end of the valve B22, and the other end communicates with the hole H21 and one end of the valve B24. Here, the valve B21 is closed.

One end of the valve B22 communicates with one end of the blower BR and one end of the valve B21, and one end communicates with the second end of the heater HT. Here the valve B22 is open. As a result, the air pushed from the blower BR is supplied to the heater (heater) HT via the valve B22, and the air temperature-controlled by the heater (heater) is supplied to the housing (heater) through the hole H22. It is supplied inside the cargo).

One end of the valve B23 communicates with the third end of the heater, and the other end communicates with one end of the valve B25 and one end of the valve B28. Here, the valve B23 is closed.
One end of the valve B24 communicates with the hole H21 and one end of the valve B21, and the other end communicates with the other end of the blower BR. Here the valve B24 is open. As a result, the air discharged from the housing (cargo) through the hole H21 returns to the blower BR through the valve B24.

One end of the valve B25 communicates with the other end of the valve B23 and one end of the valve B28, and the other end communicates with one end of the blower BR and the other end of the valve B24. Here, the valve B25 is closed.
One end of the valve B26 communicates with the hole H21 and one end of the valve B24, and the other end communicates with the other end of the valve B23, one end of the valve B25, and one end of the valve B28. Here, the valve B26 is closed.

One end of the valve B27 communicates with the atmosphere, and the other end communicates with the other end of the blower BR, the other end of the valve B24, and the other end of the valve B25. Here the valve B27 is closed.
One end of the valve B28 communicates with the other end of the valve B23, one end of the valve B25, and the other end of the valve B26, and the other end communicates with the atmosphere. Here the valve B28 is closed.

By controlling the open / closed state of the valves B21 to B28 in this way, the control panel CP supplies the air extruded from the blower BR to the heater HT via the valve B22, and the air is heated by the heater HT and the air is pitted. Through H22, the culture containers BT1 to BT6 provided in the housing KG are transferred from the culture container BT6 provided at the bottom to the culture container BT5, the culture container BT4, the culture container BT3, the culture container BT2, and the culture container. It passes in the order of BT1. After that, air is discharged from the hole H21 and returns to the blower BR via the valve B24. In this way, the air sucked through the lower hole H22 is discharged through the upper hole H21 arranged on the vertical line.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an open / closed state of each valve in the flow path FL22 in which air is supplied from above among the circulation flow paths during culturing. As shown in FIG. 19, valve B21 (first valve) opens, valve B22 (second valve) closes, valve B23 opens, valve B24 closes, valve B25 opens, valve B26 closes, valve. B27 is closed and valve B28 is closed.

By controlling the open / closed state of the valves B21 to B28 in this way, the control panel CP allows the air pushed out from the blower BR to flow into the housing KG through the hole H21 via the valve B21. The inflowing air is obtained from the culture containers BT1 to BT6 provided in the housing KG from the culture container BT1 provided at the top, the culture container BT2, the culture container BT3, the culture container BT4, the culture container BT5, and the culture container. It passes in the order of BT6. After that, air is discharged from the hole H22, the discharged air is heated by the heater (heater) HT, and the heated air passes through the valve B23 and the valve B25 in order and returns to the blower BR. In this way, the air sucked through the upper hole H21 is discharged through the lower hole H22 arranged on the vertical line.

In order to change the circulation direction of air in the housing KG in the circulation flow path during culturing in this way, the control panel CP is at least of the valve B21 (first valve) and the valve B22 (second valve). Switch the open / closed state.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an open / closed state of each valve in the flow path FL23 in which air is supplied from below in the intake / exhaust flow paths. As shown in FIG. 12, valve B21 (first valve) closes, valve B22 (second valve) opens, valve B23 closes, valve B24 closes, valve B25 closes, valve B26 opens, valve. B27 is open and valve B28 is open.

By controlling the open / closed state of the valves B21 to B28 in this way, the control panel CP supplies the air flowing in from the outside of the culture device 2 through the valve B27 to the blower BR and pushes it out from the blower BR. After that, the extruded air is supplied to the heater HT via the valve B22, and the air heated by the heater HT flows into the housing KG through the hole H22. The inflowing air is the culture containers BT1 to BT6 provided in the housing KG, and the culture containers BT5, the culture container BT4, the culture container BT3, the culture container BT2, and the culture container from the culture container BT6 provided at the bottom. It passes in the order of BT1. After that, the air is discharged from the hole H21 to the outside of the housing KG, and the discharged air is discharged to the outside of the culture device 2 via the valves B26 and B28. In this way, the air sucked through the lower hole H22 is discharged through the upper hole H21 arranged on the vertical line.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an open / closed state of each valve in the flow path FL24 in which air is supplied from above among the intake / exhaust flow paths. As shown in FIG. 21, valve B21 (first valve) opens, valve B22 (second valve) closes, valve B23 opens, valve B24 closes, valve B25 closes, valve B26 closes, valve. B27 is open and valve B28 is open.

By controlling the open / closed state of the valves B21 to B28 in this way, the control panel CP supplies the air flowing in from the outside of the culture device 1 through the valve B27 to the blower BR and pushes it out from the blower BR. After that, the extruded air passes through the hole H21 via the valve B21, and the culture containers BT1 to BT6 provided in the housing KG are cultivated from the culture container BT1 provided at the top to the culture container BT2 and the culture. It passes through the container BT3, the culture container BT4, the culture container BT5, and the culture container BT6 in this order. After that, the air is discharged from the hole H22 to the outside of the housing KG, the discharged air is heated by the heater HT, and the heated air is discharged to the outside of the culture device 1 via the valves B23 and B28. .. In this way, the air sucked through the upper hole H21 is discharged through the lower hole H22 arranged on the vertical line.

Here, the valve B27 is also referred to as an intake valve, and the valve B28 is also referred to as an exhaust valve. One end of this valve B27 communicates with the atmosphere, and the other end is connected to the side of the blower BR. One end of the valve B28 is connected to the housing KG side and the other end communicates with the atmosphere. As described above, the control panel CP takes in the outside air into the housing KG and discharges it during the culture when the predetermined intake / exhaust flow path transition conditions are satisfied. Is controlled to open at least the valve B27 (intake valve) and the valve B28 (exhaust valve) so that the air is taken into the housing KG and discharged. As a result, the fan of the blower BR rotates in one direction, so that air flows in from the outside of the culture device 2 through the valve B27, and the inflowing air is supplied to the blower BR and enters the housing KG. Extruded. After that, the air that has passed through the housing KG is discharged to the outside of the culture device 2 via the valve B28.

Further, when the intake / exhaust flow path transition condition is satisfied, the control panel CP takes at least the valve B21 (first valve) and the valve B22 (in order to change the path of taking in the external air into the housing KG and discharging it. The open / closed state of the second valve) is switched. As a result, the route of the intake / exhaust flow path is changed.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an open / closed state of each of the flow path FL25 and the valve when the medium is dried. As shown in FIG. 22, valve B21 (first valve) closes, valve B22 (second valve) opens, valve B23 closes, valve B24 closes, valve B25 closes, valve B26 opens, valve. B27 is open and valve 28 is open. Further, the heater HT is in the ON state, and for example, the temperature of the air is adjusted to be a first temperature higher than room temperature. As a result, air having a first temperature higher than normal temperature is supplied to the medium, and the medium is dried. Then, the moist air is discharged from the valve B28. In this embodiment, as an example, the flow path is one-way only when the medium is dried.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an open / closed state of each of the flow paths FL26, FL27 and the valve during dry heat. As shown in FIG. 23, the dry heat flow paths FL26 and FL27 are circulation flow paths, which are the same as the flow paths FL21 and the flow path FL22 of FIG. 19, respectively. However, the heater HT is in the ON state, and is adjusted to, for example, a second temperature higher than the first temperature. As a result, air having a second temperature is supplied into the housing KG, and the inside of the housing KG is sterilized.

The control panel CP switches the open / closed state of the valves B21 to B28 so that the flow path FL26 and the flow path FL27 are switched. As a result, the flow paths FL26 and FL27 are switched, so that dry heat sterilization can be performed uniformly.

As described above, the culture device 2 according to the second embodiment is a culture device for solid-culturing aerobic bacteria (for example, bacteria of the genus Bacillus), and is provided at a position lower than the hole H21 and the first hole. A housing KG in which H21 is formed, a plurality of culture containers BT1 to BT6 having a plurality of holes on the bottom surface and arranged vertically inside the housing KG, and a blower BR for pushing out air. A valve B21 provided between the hole H21 of the housing KG and one end of the blower BR, a valve B22 provided between the hole H22 of the housing KG and one end of the blower BR, and air in the housing KG. In order to change the circulation direction of the valve B21, at least a control panel CP for switching the open / closed state of the valve B21 and the valve B22 is provided.

According to this configuration, since the air circulation direction can be changed during the solid culture, the temperature uniformity in the culture vessel can be improved without the stirring step.

As described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and at the implementation stage, the components can be modified and embodied within a range that does not deviate from the gist thereof. In addition, various inventions can be formed by an appropriate combination of the plurality of components disclosed in the above-described embodiment. For example, some components may be removed from all the components shown in the embodiments. Furthermore, components over different embodiments may be combined as appropriate.

1, 2 Culture equipment B1 to B7, B21 to B28 Valve BT1 to BT6 Culture container CP Control panel DR Door GM Elastic body HD Handle HT Heater (heater)
KG housing WL1-WL4 wheels

Claims (7)

A culture device that cultivates microorganisms in solid form.
A housing in which a first hole and a second hole provided at a position lower than the first hole are formed, and a housing.
A plurality of culture containers having an opening on the ceiling surface and a plurality of holes on the bottom surface and vertically arranged inside the housing.
A blower that pushes out air,
A first valve provided between the first hole of the housing and one end of the blower,
A second valve provided between the second hole of the housing and one end of the blower,
A control panel for switching at least the open / closed state of the first valve and the second valve in order to change the air circulation direction in the housing.
A culture device comprising. An intake valve that communicates with the atmosphere at one end and is connected to the blower side from the other end.
An exhaust valve with one end connected to the housing side and the other end communicating with the atmosphere.
Further prepare
The control panel controls at least the intake valve and the exhaust valve to be opened so that external air is taken into the housing and discharged during culturing when a predetermined intake / exhaust flow path transition condition is satisfied. The culture apparatus according to claim 1. When the intake / exhaust flow path transition condition is satisfied, the control panel is in an open / closed state of at least the first valve and the second valve in order to change the path of taking in external air into the housing and discharging the air. The culture apparatus according to claim 2. The culture apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first hole and the second hole are formed diagonally. The housing is provided with a door that can be opened and closed.
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein an elastic body is provided on the inner surface of the door, and the elastic body is in close contact with the upper surface of the side wall constituting the culture vessel when the door is closed. Incubator. It has wheels connected to the housing and
The culture device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the culture device can be moved by rotating the wheel. The culture device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the culture device is a culture device for culturing a culture for separating and collecting cultured cells.